whitepoodles

So true.. I have a friend who lives in cabbagetown near the Beaches but NOT in the beaches area and her home is tiny and old but very well upkept.
She told me it will fetch over $500,000 if she were to sell it.. I just could not believe it..

Toronto is a high income but expensive city to live in.

Montreal is wonderful and still one of the cheapest places realestate wise to live in Canada. Love living here but wish the french and english will settle theri differences once and for all. we are so fed up of separatism... we want to keep our province part of canada while some want it to separate.

fjm

I live in a village in Lancashire - one of the less expensive areas for housing in the UK. Average price of a 3-bedroomed house is over £300,000 - USD460,000, CAD477,000.

whitepoodles

I heard some European countries are virtually impossible to buy a house in.. Europe in general is very expensive and with the Euro $ WOW.

Switzerland I heard is one of the most expensive to live in.

In Israel a small 1 bdrm apartment/condo in a residential area can fetch over $1,000.000.00

roxy25

Those beach prices are cheap compared to California prices. Where I live within maybe a 6 mile radius, there are homes from 200k ( ghetto nasty homes usually) and then you have 9 million plus homes. Its really weird to be driving around LA and sto ee all of these types of homes in a short trip.

I was on Redfin the other day and found a House that was 150 million dollars up in the hills ..... only movie stars or directors can afford those houses lol

wishpoo

I agree with Roxy LOL - there is no home below $600,000 in Bay Area and in the worst parts of it !!! In my neighborhood a lot without home costs 1 mil !!!!

Yes, Switzerland is as expensive as CA, but Italy and Germany are more affordable AND - credit rates in Switzerland are 1-2 % lmao and minimal property tax (0.3 to 0.5 % LMAO), income tax 13 %, schools free, and even medical school costs only 7,000 Euros !!!!! ANYBODY can afford going to the BEST schools and get any education they want. Yeah ... "poor people" in Switzerland, he he ; )))

To be honest I am sick of my big house and all of the up-keep - would exchange it for an apt. in Europe without even blinking twice . LOL

faerie

i've lived with guys and i've been married and i've had guys in dating relationships no shacking up.

dating and it doesn't work? no skin off our backs .. later 'skater.

living together and it doesn't work? little more skin off the back esp when you figure out who gets what that was communally purchased and who moves out, but less messy.

married and it doesn't work out? ugh. financial paperwork, and legal shmegal and community property etc. much more messy.

i do believe in living together before marriage. i think legal marriage is a bunch of hooha paperwork stuff. i'll never do that again. i'll keep my assets separate, thank you very much. if i do share assets with anyone there will be another type of contract put into place.

i also think that if you are married you stay in a relationship longer and try to make it work ... at least for me.

buttercup123

IMO age doesn't matter I moved in with my bf when I was 17 and dating for a year and after 4 years still together. We fight sure but every couple does. Is there any way for you to get another job to help pay?

spoowhisperer

Looks like I'm the odd one. I believe in Marriage, period. Marriage is a commitmet, its not about how do I feel, am I falling out of love, I want out. Love is an action word, that you have to work on everyday. We told our kids, "if you move in with your girlfriend/boyfriend, there goes your college money. Your on your own.

1Jurisdiva

Locket,

I'm sorry to jump in late into this discussion (still haven't adjusted to my full time work schedule!) I just wanted to say that while I have never been at the point in a relationship where moving in was in questions I feel my parents gave me great advice.

1) They said it was very important (once you feel like a future with the guy is possible) to move in together for a while before marriage because with dating you can always escape back to your own turf when he annoys you. Living together, where you MUST be together all the time, is the true test to see if you a marriage compatible.

2) They always told me that it was extremely important (again with some commitment) to have sex before marriage, as two people may not be compatible in that way, and that the physical intimacy is far too important a part of the relationship to leave to chance for after marriage.

Anywho, this is not meant to offend any traditionalists. I just wanted to give you their perspective as it was a bit different from the norm, and advice that I am taking myself as I wade my way through the horrors of dating.

Finally, remember you are still very young. Even at 26 I look back at who I was at 20-21 and I am very different today.

Best of luck to you!
Cindy

Locket

I think our parents would get along. They have said very similar things, and I think it is very excellent advice as well. Thanks for sharing

At the moment, moving in together won't be happening this year or next, but renting a house with a small yard is not as ludicrously expensive as I thought. Yeah it's renting, but it would be terribly unwise to attempt to purchase a house in the next few years. Perhaps in 5 years time.
I would also love to move out West to BC eventually. My boyfriend and I are taking the train there this summer and staying for a week, so I hope he loves it out there as much as I do. The only problem with BC is that its even MORE expensive than Toronto Well, at least in Vancouver anyhow...and I would LOVE to live near Stanley Park. Never gonna happen :(

I can't wait to get my degree in April...for some reason, I feel as though graduating will magically make everything start falling into place. I'll get a job in a bakery over the summer, I'll start pastry school that fall, I'll continue working and saving up money, and then hopefully by fall 2012, I will have the funds to provide for myself and Mitch, and Zach and I (and Mitch) will move in together. That's the plan anyway...

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